No booze at school events call
GEELONG producer Alice Ivy admits that releasing a record during a pandemic is a “bizarre” scenario to be in.
But the multi-instrumentalist also known as Annika Schmarsel is excited to have dropped her second album. Don’t Sleep, released on Friday, has been two years in the making.
“Putting out a record during a pandemic is very anti-climactic, it’s a weird thing,” Ivy said.
“Usually off the back of album release you do a tour, have listening parties and celebrate it, but obviously that’s not happening.
“It’s a pretty surreal feeling releasing a record in this point of time, but I’m really excited – it marks a massive milestone in my career.”
The former Triple J Unearthed Listen Out winner delivered her debut record in 2018. With previously released singles such as Better Man, In My Mind and Sunrise generating positive responses, Ivy is now hoping to make a further impact with her new tracks.
Don’t Sleep showcases Ivy’s refined curatorial skills, as the likes of Thelma Plum, Ecca Vandal, Odette and Ben Joseph come together within her creative orbit.
The 27-year-old, who now lives in Melbourne, said growing up in Geelong “totally” had an impact on her career and latest album.
“I was part of the band the Sweethearts and I grew up listening to a lot of Motown soul, which has definitely had an influence on how I produce music today,” she said.
“I’m pretty thankful for those times and the years spent playing in that band.”
For more information, visit aliceivymusic.net
A BOOZE ban at school fundraisers is being urged by Australian alcohol experts, who warn that sloshed parents at fetes and trivia nights are setting students a bad example.
The federally funded National Drug Research Institute has told a Senate inquiry into foetal alcohol spectrum disorder that schoolkids were being exposed to drunken mums and dads at school graduations, formals, fundraising events, musicals, sporting events and barbecues.
“Kids don’t miss much,’’ the institute’s prevention program leader, Associate Professor Nyanda McBride, said.
“There’s a message … when they see a parent dancing with a glass of wine in their hand.’’
Monash University senior lecturer Dr Bernadette Ward, who completed a PhD on the use of alcohol in schools, warned drinking at school events sent the wrong message to students.
“It normalises the use of alcohol at social events and contradicts the curriculum, where we teach students they don’t need alcohol to have fun,’’ she said.
“Children see that socialising is always associated with alcohol. We know that some of the most problematic drinkers in Australian society are middle-aged women.’’
Dr Ward called for tighter guidelines to ban alcohol at school events attended by children.
She worries parents could drink-drive home from school functions, with kids in the car.
“If there’s an alcoholrelated accident on the way home from a school event, have we thought that through?’’ she said.
But the Parents and Citizens’ (P&C) Association Queensland defended drinking at school events and fundraisers.
“If P&Cs want to include alcohol service at wine and cheese nights or trivia nights, that’s OK,’’ chief executive Scott Wiseman said.
“I don’t think the motivation is to sell copious amounts of alcohol — it’s about adding to the event.
“Parents are not going to want to be sitting through a trivia night. It would be nice to have something to eat with a glass of wine, which makes the event more enjoyable.’’
Prof McBride said children were more likely to become big drinkers if their parents were heavy drinkers.
“We’re one of the highest drinking nations in the world and our drinking style can lead to harmful outcomes,” she said.